Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Water Legislation Amendment (Inspector-General of Water Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2021. Today has been a big day for water but an even bigger day for the basin communities. Water is a shared responsibility and water in the Murray-Darling Basin is a finite resource. It's not only a finite resource but a fluctuating resource. We understand that well. We, on this side of the chamber, in the National Party and the Country Liberal Party that I represent, understand water as a resource extremely well.

Water is essential for the health and general wellbeing of the basin's 2.2 million regional and rural people. That is a lot of people who rely on this part of the world for their lives, their livelihoods, their lifestyles and the water that enables them to carry on their activities. But it's not just the people who live there who are reliant on the water; water is essential to support our national economy. The basin contributes $24 billion in agricultural earnings and around $8 billion in tourism in a normal year. That is absolutely huge. It supports so many jobs, so many people. The people who live there and rely on water for their existence also understand the ecology of the basin. They want the basin to remain healthy, because, when it is healthy, their lifestyles, their livelihoods and their production are enhanced and they are able to continue. The people who live there and rely on the water do not want this compromised.

We know that the water is essential for the natural environment in the basin, including for the 16 internationally significant wetlands and the endangered species that inhabit this area. We know this in the National Party. That is why we are fighting for a fair plan that will protect the environment and also protect the livelihoods of the people who live there and the production, the jobs and the economy. To ensure a healthy working basin, water management is, as I've said, a shared responsibility between the Commonwealth and the basin states. We all have a part to play in the management of the water in the basin. That's why we have a Basin Plan, which is an agreement between all basin jurisdictions that we will manage this finite resource in a sustainable way so that it will last well into the future and we can protect this very valuable resource.

In developing this bill, the Australian government has worked closely with basin states to ensure that the bill will have their support before it commences. A really important factor is that we have worked and consulted widely with the states that this will involve. It was in September 2020 that the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, the Hon. Keith Pitt, announced the government's intention to create the role of Inspector-General of Water Compliance. This bill will implement the government's commitment to strengthen the compliance and enforcement powers in the Murray-Darling Basin. There is absolutely no point in having a plan and having water allocations and water rights if this is not complied with and if there is no mechanism to actually enforce the details of the plan. This is a fundamental reason that we have police in Australia. There is no point in making laws if you can't enforce them. If you set a speed limit but there is no mechanism for ensuring compliance and enforcement, then there is absolutely no point in setting the speed limit in the first place. You might as well say, 'Go out and do whatever you want to do.' That is why we have committed to strengthen compliance and enforcement powers. This will give communities the assurance they deserve, regarding water management, in exactly the same way that road users are assured of the acts of other—

Senator Thorpe interjecting—